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NHL and Fanatics Debut On-Ice Player Home Uniforms for 2024-25 Season

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Good morning, Uni Watchers. I hope everyone had a good Tuesday.

We’ve got big uniform news this morning, as the NHL and Fanatics have unveiled jerseys for 30 of the 32 NHL teams (both the LA Kings and Anaheim Ducks will be receiving newly designed uniforms, and those will be unveiled separately). I have broken down the jerseys for each team by division (links to follow), but let’s take a look at some of the new jerseys here along with their features.

With the NHL Draft occurring in Las Vegas Friday and Saturday, the NHL and new uniform supplier Fanatics have released the home jerseys for all 30 teams whose uniforms will have only slight changes for the 2024-25 season. Dubbed the “Fanatics Authentic Pro NHL on-ice uniforms,” these are the first Fanatics-branded and designed NHL player uniforms. These jerseys will be given to each draft pick after their name is called on stage.

Beginning with the 2024-25 season, Fanatics becomes the official outfitter of the NHL’s on-ice uniforms for the next 10 seasons. The new uniforms are being manufactured by Quebec-based SP Apparel, the same company that has provided the NHL’s on-ice uniforms for nearly 50 years.

Fanatics states their design and development process, in collaboration with the NHL, “included active participation by a number of critical stakeholders, including NHL players, the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), and executives and locker room personnel from every NHL Club, thereby resulting in a high-quality jersey engineered for the modern hockey player.”

With the exception of the Ducks and Kings who’ll be shortly debuting new designs, 28 of the 30 remaining clubs will be wearing uniforms that are mostly unchanged from the 2023-24 season. The Utah Hockey Club — formerly the Arizona Coyotes — will be debuting new uniforms this year as well. UHC recently unveiled preliminary graphics showing their new jerseys, logos and colors a short while ago. The Boston Bruins, who wore special one-year Centennial uniforms last season, will revert to the uniforms they wore in 2022-23.

While the new uniforms will bear striking visual similarities to those worn last season, there are some new attributes.

The jersey’s base construction remains similar to the current jersey standard, but new features of the Fanatics Authentic Pro uniform include:

• An additional layer of fabric inside the lower sleeve to enhance uniform durability intended to reduce material wear from sustained friction against the boards. This enhancement was the direct result of feedback from NHL players and equipment managers.

• New shoulder fabrics replacing the debossed pattern fabric used on the shoulders of the prior NHL jersey. (In other words, the “adidas dimples” are now gone.)

• A new NHL Shield execution on the front neck of the jersey which includes a special hologram finish.

• Fanatics branding embroidered on the back neck of jerseys.

“Over the past several months, Fanatics worked with the NHL and NHLPA to visit all 32 Clubs, where players had the opportunity to see, feel and try on the new uniforms,” states Fanatics. “Throughout these visits, the Fanatics Authentic Pro on-ice uniforms received positive feedback. The players were glad to see that Fanatics kept the base construction similar to what they were comfortable playing in, and also that some slight design and performance adjustments have been made to the uniform.”

Here’s a video narrated by the legendary Doc Emrick explaining a bit about the new jerseys:

As noted above, I’ll provide links to every team by division, so you can look at several different views of the 30 home jerseys. Each team will have a couple looks at the full jersey, as well as close-ups of some of the new details. Unfortunately, there are no rear views of the jerseys (we may need to wait for the Draft to see the number/NOB treatments). Here’s what you’ll find in the Divisional breakdowns to follow:

• Full-size graphic of the jersey:

• Slightly different angle of the jersey on a mannequin from inside the factory:

• Close up of the crest being stitched:

• Alternate view of the jersey on a drafting table (note the Montreal jersey features the French-language “LHN” initials on the shield):

• Close up of the fabric pattern/colors:

• A look at the Fanatics logo which will appear just beneath the rear collar of each jersey:

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The Eastern Conference has two divisions: Atlantic and Metropolitan. The Western Conference has two divisions: Central and Pacific.

The teams in each division are as follows:

Atlantic

Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Detroit Red Wings
Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs

__________
Metropolitan

Carolina Hurricanes
Columbus Blue Jackets
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Washington Capitals

__________
Central

Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues
Utah Hockey Club
Winnipeg Jets

__________
Pacific

Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
San Jose Sharks
Seattle Kraken
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
_____
* Anaheim Ducks
* Los Angeles Kings

*Kings and Ducks uniforms will be unveiled separately.

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To see the Atlantic Division jerseys, Click Here

To see the Metropolitan Division jerseys, Click Here

To see the Central Division jerseys, Click Here

To see the Pacific Division jerseys, Click Here

 

 
  
 

Guess the Game from the Scoreboard

Guess The Game…

…From The Scoreboard

Today’s scoreboard comes from Jeff Kissel.

The premise of the game (GTGFTS) is simple: I’ll post a scoreboard and you guys simply identify the game depicted. In the past, I don’t know if I’ve ever completely stumped you (some are easier than others).

Here’s the Scoreboard. In the comments below, try to identify the game (date and location, as well as final score). If anything noteworthy occurred during the game, please add that in (and if you were AT the game, well bonus points for you!).

Please note: There are two scoreboards below, both from the same game.

Please continue sending these in! You’re welcome to send me any scoreboard photos (with answers please), and I’ll keep running them.

 

 

Guess the Game from the Uniform


Based on the suggestion of long-time reader/contributor Jimmy Corcoran, we’ve introduced a new “game” on Uni Watch, which is similar to the popular “Guess the Game from the Scoreboard” (GTGFTS), only this one asked readers to identify the game based on the uniforms worn by teams.

Like GTGFTS, readers will be asked to guess the date, location and final score of the game from the clues provided in the photo. Sometimes the game should be somewhat easy to ascertain, while in other instances, it might be quite difficult. There will usually be a visual clue (something odd or unique to one or both of the uniforms) that will make a positive identification of one and only one game possible. Other times, there may be something significant about the game in question, like the last time a particular uniform was ever worn (one of Jimmy’s original suggestions). It’s up to YOU to figure out the game and date.

Today’s GTGFTU comes from Jimmy Corcoran himself.

Good luck and please post your guess/answer in the comments below.

 

 

And finally...

…that’s going to do it for the early post. Individual divisions will be posted separately and linked above. We’ll also have Anthony’s Ticker a bit later on. If the Ducks and Kings unveil their redesigned uniforms today, I should have an additional article(s) on those as well.

Everyone have a great Wednesday, and I’ll catch you right back here in the morning.

Peace,

PH

Categories
NHL
Comments (39)

    Take that uniform and replace the old logo with their current modernized logo and you have a contender for best uniform in the NFL!

    GTGFTU is Cowboys @ Falcons on Sunday, November 21, 1976. Final score: Dallas 10 Atlanta 17 from week 11.

    I’m sure there aren’t many readers here who draw a distinction between different maker’s marks, but for me the Fanatics logo looks so cheap compared to many other brands.

    I will say this, I do like the fact they went with white and the teams colors as a background. It is certainly not as obtrusive as Nike would have done.

    That’s probably just the negative connotation you have when you see it. In an abstract sense it’s as good or bad as any of them. At least it’s not Nike and they’re demanding to be on the front, crowding out the team’s logo.

    Nike actually has a good logo though, and with some jerseys (like soccer) they actually put less branding than other manufacturers (looking at you Adidas with stripes everywhere).

    Yes, you’re right. There is nothing that intrinsically conveys a sense of quality when I see Adidas, Nike, Puma, Umbro, or Kappa logos, but I know from experience that offerings from those brands will always be high quality.

    It does. In part because it’s only associated with cheap merch. Of course these on ice jerseys will be fine, but the fan ones will probably get worse quickly over the next few seasons.

    Fanatics overall is cheap. Just take a look at the Florida Stanley Cup merch that just came out. If you compare it to other championship merch like the Super Bowl, NCAA Football/Basketball Championship, World Series, NBA Finals, etc, it looks like the cheap apparel that you would usually find at Walmart. Other companies that manufacture NHL apparel like Mitchell & Ness, ’47 Brand, and now Starter, make their fan apparel much more appealing than some of the crap coming from Fanatics. Fanatics is all about fast and cheap while charging higher prices to maintain a profit. Fanatics is everything that is wrong with fan merchandise.

    Yes, but that is their demographic. Selling affordable merchandise. This is their entrance into premium apparel. Let’s see how they evolve.

    As a game used collector, I miss the Adidas dimples. Like MLB pinstripes, they intersect in a unique way like a thumbprint, so in a high quality photograph, the dimples can help photo match jerseys.
    As a Uni Watcher, the dimples were goofy and they did nothing except shout “I’m Adidas, in case you can’t see the logo in the back.” So I don’t miss them 100% unequivocally.

    YES! They’re making their return with the new jerseys. I visited the Fanatics HQ in NYC a couple weeks ago, and they showed me the new jerseys. The top-of-the-line (don’t remember what they’re calling it) jersey WILL have the fight strap in the jerseys available to fans. That’s different from adidas.

    That’s awesome! I always loved that the authentics had them on the old CCM jerseys in the 90s

    It’s not a return, they never left. They’ve always been available, including on the non-MiC “authentic” jerseys.

    I was going to say the exact same thing. The fight straps never left. I have a couple non-MIC authentic Adidas jerseys and all have fight straps.

    The 4 tiers:

    Authentic Pro – official on ice player version
    Premium – High Retail, compared to current addidas retail version
    Breakaway – ecomony retail, machine washable

    Practice Jerseys – The teams practice jersey will be available for sale to the public as well.

    NHL jerseys easily have the best logo treatment/details of any of the big 4 sports

    Agreed and almost every team is at or near their best all-time look. Take note, other leagues

    We’ll see what the retail versions look like. The perception around Fanatics is already rock bottom. Any perceived errors or low quality issues are going to be criticized likely more so than any other manufacturer’s would be, just due to Fanatics’ reputation. Perhaps they’ll over-deliver. I wouldn’t bet on it.

    For me, it’s been all downhill for NHL jerseys since the Reebok takeover in 2007. Too many teams’ identities got botched for no real good reason, and while some have returned to their former glory, too many others have down-graded or taken the opportunity to fix what wasn’t broken.

    This all coincides with the rise of retail of course. More jerseys, more product to sell. But as I realize I am just sounding like an old man yelling at the clouds, I humbly digress.

    I am so happy the shoulder dimples are gone on the NHL jerseys. I remember when adidas introduced them with their new uniforms and thinking it look unnecessary and ridiculous. Of course, we got used to it over time but I’m real happy they are gone.

    I don’t miss them. It was almost adidas’s attempt to engineer some “LOOK AT ME!” into the uniform without putting 3 stripes everywhere. Sort of how Nike butchered the basketball template with truncated stripes on the jerseys and off-center notching on the shorts. Or the thinned-down headspooning on Nike MLB jerseys. Or the unnecessary weird tailoring template on Nike football jerseys. Damn you, Nike…

    I have to admit, my initial reaction is positive. There is no “story-telling” of light fabric or crap like that. In fact they added fabric to the sleeves for additional wear. These really look like solid jersey’s and also excited they are offering the on ice version for retail.

    It is wild to me how different the jerseys look without the sleeve numbers. Every other element is there, but without the sleeve numbers they look completely fake to me. I guess it is just the knowledge of what the on-ice product actually looks like, so just that one element missing is a giant contrast.
    But with that context in mind, otherwise they look like they should and aren’t giving off the awful vibes of NIke’s MLB roll out this year.

    Scoreboard appears to be from August 26, 2004.

    link

    Interesting to see the matrix board in “hey, where’s the data?” mode.

    Kee-reck!

    Here’s what the submitter said to me in an e-mail:

    This game took place on August 26, 2004 at GABP in Cincinnati between the Cardinals and Reds; it was a very quick game that starting pitchers Chris Carpenter and Aaron Harang both completed, with the only run coming on a Sean Casey solo home run in the sixth inning. What’s notable from a scoreboard perspective is that the B&W portion of the park’s large left field scoreboard showed essentially an error screen for the entire game, as seen in the first attached image, which I took during the second inning. There was simply no information on any board in the park about balls/strikes/outs, who was batting, who was pitching, statistics, etc. for much of the game.

    By about the fourth inning – once they realized they weren’t going to be able to fix the issue – they managed to superimpose a small graphic from what I believe was the Reds television broadcast onto the color portion of the scoreboard to the right (seen with the final score in the second image from after the game) to show basic things like the score, and balls/strikes/outs. Even then, it wasn’t much, forcing those keeping score to resort to on-field visuals and PA announcements to identify players – a heavenly throwback of sorts. It certainly was one of the more memorable games I’ve ever attended in person based on the scoreboard alone.

    This was a fun one to find, I looked up the years that Chevy was using An American Revolution Slogan and looked at all the games played between those teams during those years.

    As a vocal critic of Fanatics, I am surprised by what appears to be a very straightforward and seemingly high-quality set of jerseys being debuted. Of course they’re putting their best foot forward for this stage of the PR project. I’m cautiously optimistic based on this initial data, but I will withhold final judgment until I see these uniforms on the ice.

    Not a single uniform ad on any of the sweaters in the galleries……as god intended.

    It is hard to tell and I haven’t seen anyone mention this but it appears that the scooped hems and wavy waist stripes have been replaced by straight stripes and hems. The scooped hems or diapers also looked silly to me, along with the dimpled shoulder. Anything to get back to the look and feel of the Ultrafil jerseys of the late 1980s and early 1990s is good.

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